Richard Wells Nieland

Richard lived in Chicago and graduated from Arlington High School, where he was a member of the state-champion gymnastics team. He attended Indiana University and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Science in 1960. He earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration in 1962 and then joined the United States Army as a Second Lieutenant. He served at Fort Knox through 1964, where he was the only lieutenant on the pistol shooting team for the base.

Richard began his professional career in investment management as a research analyst in the trust department at Northern Trust Bank in Chicago. He joined Harris Associates in Chicago in 1969 as a manager of private pensions. He became a Chartered Financial Analyst in the early 1970’s. In 1974, Richard became a partner at NNIS in Milwaukee, managing the investment of corporate pension funds.

In 1979, Richard joined Criterion Group in Houston as managing director. Over the next few years, Richard became a partner and senior officer of Criterion, playing a critical role in the success of the company. He led the company’s equity investments group, which experienced rapid growth throughout the 1980’s. He also led the firm’s mutual fund marketing and the launch of its Convertible Fund. Criterion Group went public in 1986, and Richard left the firm in 1987 to manage private investments.

Richard was a limited partner in a number of restaurant ventures, including Café Annie and Hoffbrau Steaks. His hobbies and interests included tennis, hunting and fishing, biking, fantasy football, World War II naval history, and model ship building. In his retirement, he became a master model ship builder and created a studio in his house, where he built more than 500 model ships.

Richard is survived by his wife of 54 years, Janice Coffey Nieland; and sons Charles William Nieland and wife Nancy Nieland, and David Bradford Nieland and wife Priscilla Nieland along with granddaughter Jade Nieland.

A memorial service will be held at four o’clock in the afternoon on Wednesday, the 23rd of September 2015, in the Jasek Chapel of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston. Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception to be held in the adjacent pavilion.

In lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions may be directed to the Houston SPCA, 900 Portway Dr., Houston, TX 77024 or to the Houston Humane Society, 14700 Almeda Rd, Houston, TX 77053.